Wednesday 29 January 2014

SUPERBOWL fever hit`s NEW YORK City








This Sunday will see the newest installment of the Superbowl saga as SUPERBOWL XLVIII (48) hits METlife Stadium in New York/New Jersey on February 4th.
This year will witness the two Conference champions from the AFC and NFC locking horns with Peyton Manning leading his Denver Broncos against Richard Sherman`s hard to break down Seattle Seahawks contesting the Vince Lombardi trophy.
The two sides have previously this year, but that was back in pre-season where the Broncos were crushed by the Seahawks 40-10, however neither side will reflect on that game with any real reminiscence as we both look ahead to meeting in a competitive game.


For the Seattle Seahawks, this is a chance for them to put the record straight from the last time they reached the Superbowl, which was back 8 years ago at Superbowl XL (40). 
That day saw Jerome 'the Bus' Bettis run down the Seahawks defence in Detroit`s Ford Field stadium as he helped punished the Seattle side with his Pittsburgh Steelers securing their their fifth Superbowl victory.
In that game Matt Hasselbeck the Quarterback for the Seahawks at that time, struggled to find any in roads through the 'Iron Curtain' of the Steelers defense which saw the Steelers so dominant that season.


Roll on 8 years later and Seattle are back in the big time and now seem to be in the same position as Pittsburgh were at that time as the have the best defensive record heading into the big dance. 
Seattle Seahawks form over the course of the season was a 15-3 record on their way to Superbowl XLVIII. They have a couple of other reasons why they want to become Champions besides the obvious being them wanting to the game of course.


They`ll want to gain some respect from the media, as in some quarters they seemed to be the team that was scoffed at when the Seahawks was first mentioned as a possible candidate to be at Superbowl this year, but they have proved all the doubters wrong with a couple of fantastic displays this season.
Two victories over the New Orleans Saints isn`t an easy thing to do in the NFL, but they have already accomplished that feat to go along with the 23-0 shutout of the home town New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, a place they`ll have happy memories going back to on Sunday and be hoping that history can repeats it`s self again on game day.





Marshawn Lynch   PIC:yahoosport


One of the differences that could see the Seahawks have an advantage in their game is that of their running game as they owned the best rusher in the Playoffs, in Marshawn Lynch.
Running Back Lynch, made 249 yards in the post season playoffs. He also collected the most First Down`s as a Running back, that saw only San Francisco 49ers Quarter back Colin Kaepernick level with him on that statistic. 
Lynch also had the most Rushing yards per game too as he had scored 3 touchdowns alone for his team, to which he helped them progress in these playoffs more than anyone else in the whole of the playoffs.





Nearly every record in the post season sees their opponents the Denver Broncos ahead of them by a fair way except for a couple of records that the Seahawks actually hold over the Broncos. 
Those records they have over the Broncos is off the Rushing and Defense side of things in the Team stats, they are also ranked fourth in the Rushing department while the Broncos are not that far behind them sitting in Sixth position.
Seattle have scored two more Rushing Touchdown`s than that of their rivals and have run the ball just and extra 49 yards more than the Broncos have too and so that proves that the Seahawks are certainly a dangerous side in the running side of things.
They also boast the best defensive record between the two sides which could be a massive factor in the scheme of things, that has already seen them punish the other sides on the way to them securing the NFC Championship.

That defensive effort was for all to see in the NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, as the Seahawks had stopped the powerful 49ers to see them progress and that all was down to the Seattle Seahawks secondary defense unit , with the L.O.B or ‘Legion of the Boom’ as they have been nicknamed bossing games.


The Quartet that makes up the 'L.O.B' is that of Earl Thomas, Brandon Browner, Kam "Bam Bam" Chancellor and of course the final member of the group the ‘shrinking violet' of the group... ok maybe not, but the most vocal of the lot and talked about player at the moment as we head towards media day is that of Richard Sherman. Sherman is one of if not, the best trash talker on the Seattle team and arguably the best in the NFL too, that has been one of their tactics in these playoffs as him and his cliq have almost trash talked their way to the final. The 'L.O.B' has very nearly sparked a coming together between the New Orleans Saints in pre-game and also during the coin toss too in which the umpires and teams had to separate both parties, they used the same tactic to get under the skin of the New Orleans and the 49ers games and saw them beat both opponents.


After the 49ers game, no one really spoke much about the match itself just more about the post game interview with Richard Sherman straight after the game.
That all started when in the final couple of minutes, San Francisco threw the ball deep in the endzone towards Sherman, which seemed to be either a gusty call or mad call as they aimed for him. 
Michael Crabtree tried to catch the pass down field and saw the ball swatted away by Sherman to whose saw the Seahawks defense gain possession of the ball and run out the game, that saw the now infamous interview with Richard Sherman after the game in which he came across like a wrestling villain would in an interview.



He then ranted more on camera with Erin Andrews of FOX Sports, trying her best to interview him but she looked quite taken aback by his behaviour as the CornerBack was a powder keg waiting to explode.
In his his interview he made reference to Michael Crabtree saying "I'm the best corner in the game" and added “When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you're gonna get..Don't you ever talk about me. Don't you open your mouth about the best or I'm gonna shut it for you real quick.” 

So it looks certain that he will be the head Villian of Superbowl 48, while on the flip side of things the hero of the piece will be seen as Peyton Manning the quarterback of the AFC Champion winning Denver Broncos.



Duel of the QUARTERBACKS: Peyton Manning /  Russell Wilson

pic: money.cnn.com

It comes as a shock when no one in the media has given much attention to their young quarterback in Russell Wilson whose is playing in only his 2nd NFL season and yet he has guided the Seahawks to the superbowl. 
He is a young player still learn and learning the ropes in the NFL, but Watson who was ranked 16th in the regular season for Passing yards saw him in the post season playoffs rise up to 8th place. People have compared the two QB`s of both sides in the contest but it`s a bit unfair on the Seahawks man seeing as his stats will seem like 'chalk and cheese' compared to those with Manning and the career he has.


For Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, this has been the 'Biggest' feel good story in U.S sports this year with Manning making a return to the Superbowl for the 4th time. Manning comeback has been amazing, which saw him not long ago battling a couple of serious neck surgeries over the last few years, to now leading a different franchise back into the bright lights of a Superbowl game and that is a truly remarkable effort from one of the greatest quarterback in NFL history.


It wasn`t long ago either that the elder Manning brother was sat in a sky box watching his younger brother Eli holding aloft the Superbowl trophy with the New York Giant, while he was recovering from neck surgery back in 2011.  A lot of media and former players was asking the question 'Whether Peyton was done?' after Manning got released by the Indianapolis Colts and hadn`t fully proved to have been fit. This saw the door open to a fresh new challenge for Manning and saw Legendary Denver quarterback John Elway proving key to bringing him to the Mile High City of Denver Colorado, if anyone knew about making a comeback, then it was certainly that of John Elway.



Elway who is now the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Denver Broncos was quick to snap up the free agent and not only bring in an experienced quarterback to the Broncos, but a massive team player too.
Peyton Manning signing signaled an end of an era to was would be the the number one guy for the franchise. With recent years the QB position at Denver had been pretty much a poisoned chalice with all who took over from Elway and from there on unable to deal to with the pressure.
Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow had been the two recent players battling over that job as it seemed that neither could grasp the chance with both hands when they were presented with it as they constantly swapped back and forth between them for the spot.


So when Manning joined the Broncos franchise in the Summer of 2012, he was seen as the man to lead the glory days back to the Denver outfit and things were looking all rosy for them to start with, as they won the AFC West by a mile, but the honeymoon period came to a crashing end when the Baltimore Ravens dumped the favorites out in the playoffs in the divisional playoffs. The Ravens caused a big upset beating the number 1 seeded Broncos in a epic encounter in Colorado as it saw the game head to a double overtime, with the Ravens winning it 38-35 and saw the Ravens go on to be crowned Superbowl champions.



This season however, has seen the Broncos wanting it more badly than they did last year especially after that loss at home to the Ravens last year, as it was like a kick to the lower extremities for Denver and one that they will go all out for trying to erase in the ‘Greatest show on Turf’ this coming Sunday, as they have got some unfinished business.


Their journey at the start of the season wasn`t just to reach the playoffs again, it was to reach Superbowl and win it to make amends for their loss last time out. Denver`s season record was exactly the same posted by Seattle with a 13-3 record.
The road to the playoffs started for them through the San Diego Chargers first off at home, as they manage to unplug the Chargers 24-17 before then beating their AFC rivals the New England Patriots, 26-16 in the AFC Championship game. 
Talk after the game was that of former Patriots player Wes Welker who made the move to the rival AFC side in the offseason, during the match he seemed to take out Aquib Talib in a off the ball incident which resulted in the New England man done for the game with a Rib injury from the incident.







Broncos play a different brand of ball game to that of their opposite number. Whereas the Seahawks style is more smash mouth, hardnosed  and in your face in the trenches, Denver on the other hand is built on passing and flair. Manning and his band of wide receivers namely the two Thomas`s in Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas. 
Demaryius & Julius Thomas    PIC: Sportingtimes
Those two have wreaked havoc in the league this year and have given other teams defences nightmares with their Offensive ability and if you add on top of that Peyton Manning and his deadly accurate throws, it means Seattle defense will be severely tested come game day.


The game has all the hallmarks of being an absolute classic in New York City on Sunday and it will be the first time that these two sides will have met in the Superbowl. 
The Saying ‘the immovable object v the Irresistible force’ will certainly apply in this game as the best OFFENSE will take on the best DEFENSE in the National Football League this year. With this looking like a tight match up this looks to be like a war of attrition between the two sides and they may have the added factor of the weather coming into play too and disrupting game plans too.
As reports have suggested that the freezing temperatures currently on the East coast of America, may possibly see snow making an appearance in the showcase event and would then throw another interesting dynamic in to the game.


There are so many story lines in this Superbowl this year, that NFL fans will be mouth watering over this game.
For those that aren`t into the game and more about the entertainment side of things, then for them the traditional Halftime show spectacular at this year`s Superbowl will see Bruno Mars and the rock legends in the Red Hot Chilli Peppers jointly involved as they will both have a hard task of trying to beat the Beyonce performed last year, as it was one of the most watched things on U.S television. 


Plus another big thing about Superbowl is that of getting their item seen across the whole of the States ,with the cost of getting a commercial spot for this year`s Superbowl in excess of $4 Million and that is just for a 30 second clip. So you can see why it is one of the most prized spots for advertisers Stateside as it drums up a lot of business for companies with them bringing in celebrities to plug their product as well and is a massive draw for revenue too.


Finishing off, this is one of the most interesting Superbowl`s in recent times and it wouldn`t surprise me if this was to become the FIRST EVER game in Superbowl history where it headed into overtime either.



Superbowl Prediction: Broncos by 6











Tuesday 28 January 2014

Penalty king Graham sees Phoenix win Marathon shootout









MANCHESTER PHOENIX  3 - 2 MILTON KEYNES LIGHTNING
After Penalaties


Watkins,Kovar GRAHAM (P.S)                          Cownie, Carlon







Joe Graham fires the Winning shot




 


Manchester Phoenix pulled off an unlikely victory on Sunday evening winning 3-2 on penalty shots over the Milton Keynes Lightning as for a majority of the game it looked an impossible scenario for Phoenix.  
However the combination of Phoenix duo netminder Steve Fone and Defenseman Joe Graham were the two important figures in helping Manchester edge past Milton Keynes and saw them open up a two point gap at the top of the table.




Manchester nearly scored the game opening goal within a minute of play when a shot saved by Stephen Wall in the MK Lightning goals saw the puck bounce loose in front of the nets and Michal Psurny poke at the puck , somehow managed to miss the target and seen the visitors clear their lines.
Milton Keynes had previously beat the Phoenix in the last two league encounters,  although both of those games were played on the bigger surface at the Coventry Skydome, to which is the current home for the Lightning as their home in Milton Keynes is undergoing development this season.




The Lightning took charge of the game fairly quickly as they out battling the home in every department of the game. Whether it was face-offs, checking or loose pucks, the Lightning was always a step ahead in the game and came as no suprise when they took their opening chance of the game through Jordon Cownie, who found the back of the net scoring past Steve Fone, who had his team mate screen him on the goal at 1-13 and gave the away side a great start.





Milton Keynes played a great road game as they frustrated the home side with their pressing and defensive wise they were immense too as gave Manchester a real headache trying to breakdown.
The game first penalty came at 6-20 against the MK Lightning and namely the rambunctious Grant McPherson, as he sat for two minutes for Roughing after he hit Andy McKinney and then tried to draw a penalty from him, but the Phoenix man was very wise too his tactics.
Ben Wood saw his wrist shot strike the pipe work and go high into the netting above the plexi.



The powerplay was an absolute shocker by Phoenix and one that an under 10's would cringe at. It took the last couple of seconds from it to see a shot at Wall and one that the netminder dealt with accordingly.
Phoenix had a chance to make up for it, when Ross Bowers slashed at the back of Ben Wood skates when they were both heading off the ice and he was forced to sit for two at 12-07, but yet again the home disappointed on the extra man attack as they failed to even skate over into the MK zone during the whole two minutes of the power play.




Phoenix managed to shoehorn their way back in the contest slightly, that was till one of the two referees on the ice made a weird call on a James Neil for Interference at 19-13 when there seemed to be nothing in it.
Too be fair the referee`s was missing calls on both sides and as they tried to let the game flow, Milton Keynes were certainly flexing their physical prowess as they were finishing off their checks everytime, something that Manchester wasn't doing at all since Robin Kovar put a hard stiff check on a Lightning forward in the boards after minute of play.







In the second period, Milton Keynes continued their physical play as well as their defensive display too which quelled any Phoenix attacks in the opening two periods of play, that despite the fact Manchester was heavily out shooting their opponents in the game.
Nearly all the shots the home side had was aiming far to high over Stephen Wall nets as the puck was flying over the bar and if it had been rugby, then they would have been miles ahead of the Lightning. A majority of the shots was far too high and hitting the plexi glass behind the goals and those that were on target was harmlessly right at Wall and was catching practice for the MK netminder really.





Robert Schnabel then got called for Roughing when Ben Russell was slashing at Steve Fone while the Manchester goalie had the puck covered up and despite the whistle blowing he still continued too whacked away at the glove of Fone, which then brought Schnabel dashed over to push Russell away from goal and into the boards behind as he protected his netminder. That then led to the players on the ice coming together and saw Russell escape the scrum and head straight to the bench and saw an absolutely irate Schnabel, furiously protest his innocence over the call at 29-48.
Manchester did well to kill off the penalty as they held off a determined MK power play unit, which saw the tall Czech man eventually skate right back to the bench with the Phoenix launching an attack of their own.




It was then the turn of the away side to go shorthanded once again, with a Too Many Men call at 32-05 and saw Phoenix still unable to set up a decent power play in the match to this point. Tom Carlon then took a trip to the box a minute later for a Slashing call at 33-41 and saw Manchester have a 5 on 3 opportunity as they looked to draw level.
Referee Dan Boardman then called Leigh Jamieson for Slashing at 37-57 to see the home side back on the power play and despite good movement of the puck, they just couldn`t find a way through the M.K defense at all with the opponents diving in front of the attackers to block any incoming shots on the power play.






Milton Keynes headed into the third period leading 1-0 and was in control of the match without dominating it as their stifling play had Manchester bamboozled and looking for answers as the third got underway.
However, Tony Hand must have delivered one of the best team talk in his term time as Phoenix coach with Manchester seemingly looking a completely different side to the ones that was struggling to put passes together and looked toothless in attack, to now looking like a side that was threatening and looked like they could score.
Then at 42:22 Manchester drew level as Liam Chong and Richard Bentham set up Jack Watkins whose wrist shot beat Wall to go far corner and see Phoenix tie the game up at 1-1, Phoenix had finally decided to stop shooting high and wide and aim lower and got the results.




Phoenix then pressed Milton Keynes back with them having a good spell of possession and had the visitors caught all at sea, with a wave upon wave of Phoenix attacks and saw Stephen Wall stand up excellently to every shot the home side thrown at him, especially a James Archer chance that seen Wall roll to save it spectacularly.
Lewis Christie was penalised for Tripping James Archer up along the side boards and put Manchester once again on the power play at 44-17. They were then given another opportunity with the two man advantage with Phoenix having another 5 on 3 chance that saw after the whistle, Michael Farn go for a Manchester forward much in the way that Schnabel had done in the second period. 





The home side from somewhere was given a boost of energy and urgency about their play now with the Phoenix testing Wall in the Milton Keynes goals and they found a way to finally break down the Lightning`s defenses compared to the 44 minutes of the game, in which they were second best and the tide looked to have turned.  
At 46-21 a fast passing move by the Phoenix Power play unit, saw James Archer and Michal Psurny assist to set up Robin Kovar who drilled his shot past Wall from close range to see the Phoenix go 2-1 up in the game looked to have given them control at that point in time. 
With 6 minutes of play left to go in the game it seen the game ebb and flow one way and then another. Manchester then found themselves back on the penalty kill with Richard Bentham called for Cross Checking at 53-25.




Manchester had been able to stop and block any shots that was aimed on the home sides net, but the visitors got a favourable bounce 1:05 into their powerplay when Janne Jolika cut through the home defence he laid it off to Leigh Jamieson whose effort was partly saved by Fone and saw the rebound fall to Tom Carlon and he was quick to turn it into a goal and make it all square again at 54-29, with the remaining minutes played out like a sudden death period.
The game then became a bit tighter with neither side wanting to make a mistake with the seconds ticking down.
Phoenix had a couple of late chances to win it at the death but couldn`t find the goal so we headed to Overtime.




In the Overtime period, Manchester had a couple of early shots on Wall that saw him like the proverbial brick wall at the back and helped his side out. The ice seemed to be on a sea-saw, with the way the play moved from one end to the other in quick style and made for an exciting period of hockey with both sides pushing for the winning goal.
Phoenix fans thought they`d scored the overtime winner but was disappointed when the referee called Bakrlik for a Cross Check into the MK man back at 61-27. Neither side was able to claim the extra point in the five minute extra period, so we headed to the lottery of the penalty shootout.




Manchester went first in the shoot out through Michal Psurny and saw the Czech forward wind up move before slipping under the goalie for a 1-0 lead to the Phoenix. Blaz Emersic then stepped up for the Lightning and he slotted it past Fone for 1-1.
Robin Kovar scores on Wall
Robin Kovar was next up for the Phoenix and he managed to commit Wall before backhanding top shelf in the net to see them lead 2-1 and seen Adam Carr`s effort saved by Steve Fone to give Manchester the chance of victory if James Archer could score the final penalty.
Archer skated fast down the left side before moving across goal and tried to lift it in over Wall, but the netminder was in a good position to narrow the angle and see him stop the shot denying the home side victory for now.




Janne Jokila was the third skater for MK and he made no mistake as he back handed past Fone to see the shootout head into sudden death.
Frankie Bakrlik was the fourth penalty taker for the home side as he tried to pull off a "Malik" move  by shooting between his legs, but Wall was clever to save his attempt and gave the visitors a chance to win the game through Jordan Cownie. Fone though, was equal to him and saw us head into a 5th round of shots in the match.
Robert Schnabel had hoped that history would repeat itself again as the last time he took a penalty shot he was the hero for Phoenix. 



However, it wasn`t to be this time around as he failed to even hit the target as  he pulled it wide of the goals and saw advantage MK once again.
Leigh Jamieson was next to go for the Lightning, with a chorus of boos hurled at him and he tried to back hand his penalty past Fone and saw him miss the target and so we carried on to the 6th round.
Player Coach for the Manchester Phoenix Tony Hand, then took the next shot for his team and saw him fire over the goal hitting the plexi glass and standing with a look of bemusement on his face.
Tom Carlon then missed his effort, which saw Luke Boothroyd try to do his Captain`s duty and score a penalty to put them in the driving seat. Boothroyd though never got a shot away as he lost control of the puck as he approached Wall in the goals and his ‘effort’ very nearly deceived the netminder and saw Wall getting a toe on it.




Jokila beats Fone
We then had Grant McPherson go for MK and he seemed to won the match as he drew Fone out of position and as he pulled the trigger, Fone made a top draw great save to rob him and McPherson couldn`t believe it!
That saw us move to Round 7 in the shoot out and up step unlikely hero Joe Graham, as the defenseman made a couple of dekes before firing to Wall`s right and had the home fans on their feet as the puck found twine.
Michael Farn was the man to try and keep it going for the visitors, but he was unable to do so as Steve Fone blocked his penalty and seen Manchester take the win 3-2 in the shoot out.
The win saw some daylight for the Phoenix at last at the top of the tree, with them opening up a two point gap, whilst both Bison and Flames lost their respective games to Peterborough and Swindon.  Manchester now have have the edge at the moment having these three games in hand over Basingstoke and two in hand on Guildford as they know they will need to make these count.




Psurny gives Phoenix the lead in Shootout
Plus there is also the little matter of the EPL Cup semi-finals in a couple of weeks time against the MK Lightning, which is a mouth watering prospect after another enthralling game between the two side on Sunday. Who ever wins that game will meet the winners of the other semi between the Bison and Flames to see who will meet in the final.



English Premier League
GP
W
OTW
OTL
L
GF
GA
Pts
1
Manchester Phoenix
36
23
4
2
7
167
101
56
2
Basingstoke Bison
39
22
4
2
11
149
118
54
3
Guildford Flames
39
21
3
3
12
160
124
51
4
Milton Keynes Lightning
37
18
4
1
14
144
123
45
5
Swindon Wildcats
37
14
4
1
18
129
129
37
6
Sheffield Steeldogs
39
12
2
7
18
139
172
35
7
Telford Tigers
38
15
2
0
21
122
137
34
8
Bracknell Bees
40
12
3
3
22
127
161
33
9
Slough Jets
37
14
1
1
21
124
160
31
10
Peterborough Phantoms
38
12
0
7
19
132
168
31


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